


Nine Lives

by UglyHobo



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Another lifetime for these babes, Doberman!James, F/F, Gen, Golden Retriever!Kara, Kitty!Lena, M/M, Other, Pet au, just something cute I wanted to try writing, quick little drabble, self-indulgent trash, the eternal struggle of pet owners
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-21 13:22:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9550889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UglyHobo/pseuds/UglyHobo
Summary: All Maggie and Alex wanted was for their pets to get along.  Unfortunately, Alex's golden retriever, Kara, is too excited at making friends that her first meeting with Maggie's cat goes terribly.Pet AU





	1. The Reckoning

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone kept calling Kara a puppy in their stories that I figured why not just make her one? Starting femslash Feb with a bang.

“Kara!  I’m home!”  Alex called as she dropped her bag in the entry way.  The quick thud of footsteps could be heard pounding down the hallway before there was a flash of blonde and Alex was knocked back against her front door.  Kara excitedly peppered Alex’s face with kisses.  The red headed woman affectionately laughed as she tussled Kara’s hair.

“Good to see you too!  That’s enough now.  Down, girl.”

Kara’s tongue lolled out as she sat back, tail wagging in happiness at seeing her owner.  Alex had promised a special treat today when she got home—a visit to her mate, Maggie’s house!  Maggie had come over a few times and was always really excited to play with Kara, plus, she gave the best head scratches.  Kara excitedly barked at Alex as her master rushed into her room to change into more casual clothes.  Going to see Maggie meant a car ride with the windows down!  She couldn’t wait!  Coming to the city was turning out to be one of the best adventures yet.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Kara was no more than two months old when she met Alex.  On the Krypton Farm out in the middle of nowhere, she had faint memories of her parents and meeting the Danvers for the first time.  She vividly remembered the curious human with short red fur on her head and her hesitant, but soft touch to Kara’s cheek.  In that instant, Kara felt her heart connect with the human and she could see in Alex’s eyes that she felt the same.  Luckily for her, her and her brother, Clark, had been adopted together.  Kara was grateful that the Danvers family adopted her out with one of her siblings so that they could grow together in the quaint little house just outside of Midvale.  Since coming home with the Danvers, Kara and Alex were inseparable.  She made sure to sleep either at the foot of the bed or snuggled up against Alex every night to make sure she was well protected and warm.  When Kara turned one, Alex had announced that she was offered a high ranking job with the F.B.I in National City and that she would be permanently moving there.  Kara was crushed.  The entire time Alex was packing, Kara sat outside her room, lying down on her belly and sorrowfully tracking Alex’s movement with her big brown eyes, whimpering pitifully at seeing her favourite human put her belongings in ugly boxes.

When Alex left, Kara was listless and moped around the house.  No matter how hard Clark prodded her to play tag, roll around in the grass, or go hunting for new treasures in the dirt, she just couldn’t muster up the energy.  She missed Alex.  Even Eliza and Jeremiah tried to coax her out of her funk with extra pats and treats, but it was to no avail.  Her favourite human was gone…probably forever.

A week later, Kara heard a car door slamming and the distinct sound of her favourite set of feet coming up the front steps.  The second Alex opened the door, Kara barreled her over and excitedly licked her face all over, tail wagging up a storm.  Her human was back!!!  The rest of the family watched fondly as Kara ran around in circles, jumping, barking, and licking Alex in happiness.  Crouching down, Alex scratched Kara’s cheeks and smiled with tears in her eyes.

“I couldn’t leave you behind.”

Kara licked her tears away.  The Danvers’ and Clark were her family but Alex was her pack.  Where she went, Kara would follow.

It only took a few hours for Alex to pack up her SUV with all of Kara’s favourite toys and treats.  Clark had headbutted Kara and affectionately rubbed his head against her neck.

“I’ll miss you, squirt.”

“I’m older than you.”

He rose up and knocked Kara to her side.  Tail wagging happily, Clark grinned down at her.

“I’m still bigger though.”

Kara barked at her brother to get his heavy butt off her.  She was going to miss him…but she couldn’t leave Alex by herself.  Who would protect her when the loud sucking machine came to life?

As Alex started backing out from the driveway, she rolled down the passenger side window so Kara could bark her goodbyes to her brother and the Danvers.  She was ready to start a new life with her Alex!

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

This was the worst day of Lena’s life.  Maggie had given her the special wet food with the bits of fish flakes and sprayed that weird smelling mist on herself.  That only meant one thing…her mate was coming over.  Lena rumbled her displeasure from the top of her three-tier cat tree.  Ever since Maggie brought Lena home from that awful place, where she was held captive in a metal cage with other cats yowling for freedom, Lena had become quite attached to the smiley human over time.  Her previous humans neglected her and their son, Lex, pulled at her tail when she tried to take naps.  Maggie was much more patient and gentle with her affection, plus she made sure to brush those hard to reach spots so that Lena’s fur was always immaculate!

Lena’s whiskers twitched in displeasure.  Maggie’s Alex would be coming soon and she _always_ smelled like dog.  The guard dogs the Luthor’s had were mean and cruel, often times chasing Lena down for fun and snapping their teeth at her.  Lena’s tail flicked quickly in resentment at the bitter memories.  Maggie softly called Lena to her.  Tail still swishing in unhappiness, Lena begrudgingly let Maggie pick her up from her safe spot in her cat tree.  Eyes bright, Maggie slowly rocked the tuxedo cat with white socks against her chest and quietly hummed.  The tension slowly drained from the feline’s body as the petite woman continued to rock Lena back and forth like she was a baby.

Maggie was nervous.

Today was the first time Alex was bringing her dog to meet Lena.  When Maggie heard about Lena’s past with canines at her previous owner’s home, she was adamant about Lena being the only pet—but then she met Alex and that plan went to hell.  She was alerted of her girlfriend’s pet when she first came to visit and an excited golden retriever knocked her on her ass.  She absolutely loved the affectionate little slobber factory but she couldn’t deny she was concerned about how Lena would react to Kara.

The doorbell rang.

She sucked in a deep breath.

Show time.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Opening the door a crack, Alex poked her head inside, body firmly blocking Kara’s view and from getting inside.

“Hey, babe.” Maggie greeted and leaned forward for a warm kiss.  Alex dopily grinned at her girlfriend.

“Hey yourself.”  Her brown eyes flicked down to the bundle of fur curled in Maggie’s arms.  “I see your fur baby is all relaxed to meet Kara.”

“As relaxed as I could get her.  Is Kara calm?”

Alex popped her head back out to see Kara obediently sat on her hind legs, tail swishing steadily side to side.  She offered Kara a soft ‘good girl’ before poking her head back in.

“Yup!  I took her out for a run in the dog park to hopefully tire her out.”

“Let’s hope it worked, Danvers.”

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

As per their game plan, Maggie had left to go upstairs with Lena into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.  After slowly counting to thirty, Alex entered the house and quickly toed off her shoes with Kara snuffling in behind her, leash intentionally kept short so she couldn’t wander too far.

“Are you ready, Sawyer?” She nervously called up.  Maggie shouted her confirmation and Alex guided Kara up the hardwood stairs to the dark wood of Maggie’s bedroom door.  The duo placed both their pets near the door, letting them smell one another.  Curious at the new scent, Kara wedged her nose under to snuffle closer to the source.  Maggie carefully watched as Lena stood several inches from the door, completely still, minus the anxious rattle of her tail against the floor.  Minutes passed and Lena seemed to relax knowing the black nose sniffing under the door wasn’t coming closer.  She could smell that it was some kind of mutt but at least it couldn’t get in with the door closed.

“Good girl.”  Maggie praised.  She pulled out a small treat and held it out for Lena to eat, as she stroked her back.  “Babe, Lena’s doing alright over here.  How’s it going on your end?”

Kara was surprisingly quiet.  She curiously tilted her head this way and that as she tried to get closer to the smell.  Alex gently pat Kara’s rear and uttered a soft ‘sit.’  Kara quickly obeyed and sat on her haunches.  Sighing in relief, Alex called back.

“Kara’s actually calm.  I think she’s ok?”

“Should we try opening the door a crack?”

“If Lena isn’t freaked out, we can try just enough for them to make eye contact.”  Maggie scooped the black and white feline into her arms and slowly twisted the doorknob.  The second Kara heard the click of the door, she surged forward and barreled her way in, excited to see Alex’s mate and see what the cause of the new smell was.  Startled, Maggie backed up as the large dog burst into her room dragging her girlfriend with her.  Immediately, Kara’s eyes locked onto the bundle of fur in Maggie’s arms and with a quick sniff, she knew that was the source of the unfamiliar scent.  She excitedly barked her hello and jumped up onto her hind legs to get a better view of the cat in Maggie’s arms and to offer Alex’s mate a happy lick.

“Hey! Hi there!  Hi!  What’s your name?”

Lena twisted her head to look down at the yappy mutt.  Kara’s dark eyes met bright green and she felt her heart rate spike.  Kara jumped higher to see the pretty eyes up close.

Terrified at the large golden retriever jumping up at her, Lena shot up out of Maggie’s arms and curled around the back of her neck, perched on her right shoulder, hoping to put further distance between herself and the mutt.  Kara barked excitedly, thinking Lena wanted to play and jumped harder, knocking Maggie a few steps backwards.  Terrified at the unstable wobbling and that her human was a bit too short to give Lena the distance she needed to feel safe, Lena spotted Maggie’s mate picking herself off the ground and jumped at her.

“Waugh!! _OW!_   Maggie, babe, she’s using claws. CLAWS, MAGGIE!!!!”

The dark red furred human was so squirmy, Lena dug her claws into the fabric of her shirt to avoid being thrown off.  Alex slammed her back awkwardly into the wall by the door and leaned her head back, huffing in pain, as the black cat stayed perched on her shoulder, stiff as a board but hissing with ears flat against her head as she stared down fearfully at the excited pup.

“Whoa!  Down, Kara!” The golden retriever started for Alex but before she could take one step, she felt a sudden grip on the back of her collar and a hand push down firmly on her rear.  “I said, _DOWN!_ ”

Ears flat against her head, Kara willingly obeyed the shouted command and sat on her haunches.  Maggie looked cross and pointed down at the ground.

“Lay down.”

Afraid to make her owner’s mate more upset, Kara lowered herself onto her belly and looked up at everyone with her saddest eyes, hoping they understood how sorry she was for making them upset.  Seeing Kara more calm, Maggie exhaled a long breath and blew at the dark strands of hair that fell into her face.  Straightening up, Maggie turned to her girlfriend and cat to see Alex stock still with an equally tense Lena clinging to her shoulder.

“C’mere, baby…” Maggie softly cooed as she walked closer.

“Are you talking to me or Claws McGee?”

Rolling her eyes at her dramatic girlfriend, Maggie reached out and gently pried each of Lena’s claws from Alex, while constantly shushing and making soothing sounds to calm the feline down.  Rubbing at her abused (and probably bleeding) shoulder, Alex glared at the cradled bundle of black and white fur that was currently being rocked like a baby in her beautiful girlfriend’s arms.  High pitched whining brought Alex’s attention down to her sad golden retriever.  Sighing, Alex crouched down, elbows on her thighs, and shook her head in disappointment.

“Bad, Kara, bad!  You know you’re not supposed to jump on people.” Kara continued to whine pitifully, completely sorry for breaking a rule that Alex worked hard to train her on.  Standing up, Alex moved back to Maggie to check on how her pet was doing.  Kara shifted to follow but her master turned around and commanded her to ‘stay.’  Dropping back to her belly, Kara watched dejectedly as both humans fussed over the pretty black feline, while she was made to sit here being a bad girl.  Kara whined louder.

“Ok, I think Lena’s calmed down.  I’m just going to put her in the bathroom.  Do you mind taking Kara out into the yard?”

“Sure thing. I’ll play some fetch with her to see if I can’t burn off some more of her puppy energy.”

Leaning over, the shorter girl offered Alex a quick kiss to the cheek.

“Once we get these fur babies separated, I’ll take a look at your shoulder, Danvers.”

“I didn’t expect to be your cat’s new scratching post.”

“I’ll make sure to kiss Agent Danvers’ big boo boo’s all better.”

“Promise?”

Maggie rocked forward onto her toes and kissed the pouting girl.  Pulling back, Maggie’s dimples were on full display as she smiled lovingly at her dazed girlfriend.

“I won’t unless you get Kara out into the yard and to stop whining.”

With a quick tug of Kara’s red leash and a ‘come,’ Alex was thundering down the steps and out in the backyard.  Maggie chuckled to herself.

_God, I love that woman._

 


	2. Houdini

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This house ain't big enough for the both of us...and a party.

Alex snuggled happily into Maggie’s side.  She finally moved in with the detective last week after trying to acclimate their pets to one another’s presence for the past few months.  In the meantime, Kara’s energy levels had continued to grow to the point that it made Alex guilty to leave her home alone in the one bedroom condo on the fourth floor for hours on end without much space to run around.  When Maggie asked Alex if she’d like to move in, she had been ecstatic!  Who wouldn’t want to wake up to their gorgeous girlfriend every day in a house with an actual yard for Kara?  To think that it was possible to be this happy…Alex buried her smile into the dozing detective’s soft neck.

 _This_ is perfection.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Yawning, Lena poked her head over her perch of her cat tree.  Dawn was just breaking and she wanted early morning snuggles with her human.  Eyes scanning the area, Lena couldn’t see the dumb mutt anywhere.  She quickly leapt down each platform of her tree to softly land on the hardwood flooring of the living room and set off for the bedroom at a brisk trot.  The sun was about to rise and Lena wanted to catch a few more hours of sleep before Maggie had to get up to go to work.  Pushing the partially opened door wider, Lena slipped in silently and went around to Maggie’s side.  Lena had made the mistake once to leap onto Alex’s side and was harshly thrown off the bed with how startled the red head had been when something landed on her stomach in the middle of the night.  Since that moment, Lena learned that Maggie preferred the side closest to the window so that she could enjoy the warm breeze at night.

Lena agilely leapt up and landed gracefully on the bed.  Maggie was curled on her side facing Lena, while her mate was pressed up against her back with one arm casually thrown over the shorter girl’s hips.  Padding over, Lena decided to curl into the space by Maggie’s stomach.  Her human rarely tossed when she slept so Lena wasn’t worried about suddenly being rolled on top of or being accidentally thrown off the bed.  Eyes blinking heavy with sleep, Lena drifted off.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Kara’s ears perked.  A door had creaked open.  Did that mean Alex was awake?  Rising from her soft bed, Kara hurried up the stairs to Alex’s new bedroom.  She could see her human still huddled sleeping next to her mate.  Kara never imagined that her pack would grow beyond her and Alex.  Excited to be part of the pack cuddle, Kara jumped up onto the bed and jostled all the other bed occupants awake.

Groggy at the sudden bouncing, Maggie rolled onto her back to get a look at the intruder but stopped mid-turn when she heard a distressed yowl from next to her.  Lena desperately clutched at the comforter while her hind legs scrabbled for purchase as they dangled off the bed.

“Oh no!  C’mere, fluff butt.” Maggie quickly sat up and scooped the disorientated feline into the safety of her lap.

“Kara, stop!” Alex grumpily mumbled, trying to push the excitable pup off her with one arm.  All the pup wanted to do was sleep between Alex and Maggie.  Kara turned to look at the shorter human, ready to give her a morning kiss when her eyes wandered down to meet bright green ones.  Lena was up too?  Her tail started to wag.  Eyes widening, Lena bared her fangs and hissed at Kara.  She was sick of having this dumb dog wreck her affectionate moments with her human and she certainly didn’t want any of Kara’s unnecessary attention.

“Morning, Lena!” Kara happily barked.

Back curling, Lena growled low in her throat.  When was this dumb dog going to realize she didn’t want anything to do with her?  The golden retriever took one step closer to Lena before the feline raised her right front paw and popped out her claws.  Kara stopped.

“Do you want a repeat of last month?”

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

A few weeks before Alex moved in, she had decided to stay the night at Maggie's and brought Kara with her.  While the couple were watching a movie, Lena had come down from her cat tree to quietly eat her dinner.  Kara had left Lena well enough alone for most of the visit.  They weren’t the best of friends yet (or even friends) but Lena was pretty genial as long as Kara wasn’t too excited or aggressive in her approach towards the tuxedo cat.  Hoping to further her friendship with Lena, Kara padded up behind the feline as she ate and poked her nose underneath Lena’s tail for a quick sniff.  Eyes wide at the sudden intrusion of her personal space, Lena spun around lightning quick and slashed Kara deeply with her claws.  The pup yelped in surprise and pain as she fell onto her back.  Alex came running when she heard her golden retriever crying in the kitchen.  Lena sat on top of the counter in the corner, half hidden by the water kettle, ears flat against the back of her head growling low in her throat.  Kara had a single paw on top of her snout crying in pain.

“What happened, Kara?  Let me see.” Alex gently pried Kara’s paw from her face and saw the distinct lines of a certain feline’s claws.  Anger bubbled up in Alex.  “MAGGIE!  Come into the kitchen!”

Maggie hurried in and crouched down to where her girlfriend sat, trying to soothe her crying puppy.

“What happened?”

“I dunno.  When I came in here, Lena was growling in that corner,” Alex pointed.  The tuxedo cat hadn’t moved from her spot. “—and Kara was laying down here with a paw over her face.  Look!  Lena scratched her!  She’s bleeding, Mags.”

The detective gently ran her fingers over the split skin but pulled her hand away at the spike in pained whimpering from the pup below her.  Eyes shifting to her cat’s food bowl, Maggie noticed that half of her food lay untouched and a bit was scattered on the floor.  Strange…Lena wasn’t a messy eater and always finished her food.  Looking back to Kara, she noticed that the scratch marks were near Kara’s nose.

“I think Kara might’ve surprised Lena when she was eating and she scratched her.”

Alex scoffed at the words.

“Or maybe Lena hates Kara!”

“Babe, I told you that Lena’s had a traumatic past with dogs.”

“Kara isn’t like those dogs!  She’s a good girl who’s obedient, sweet, and playful.  I don’t know what set Lena off but she shouldn’t be going Jack the Ripper on my fur baby!”

Maggie sighed as she stood up.  Slowly approaching her still spooked cat, Maggie stopped at the edge of the counter, rested her cheek against the cool marble, and offered Lena a slow blink.  She held her breath and waited.  Lena returned the slow blink a moment later and Maggie sighed in relief.  Palm face up, Maggie slid her hand slowly towards Lena and let her cat sniff at her fingers.  Calmed by the familiar scent of her human, Lena stopped growling and let her ears shift away from the back of her head.  Maggie carefully pulled Lena from her hiding spot and cradled her in the crook of her arm, heading over to the sound system in the living room.

“It’s ok, baby.  Let’s get some soothing Jessie Ware on for you, hmm?”  Maggie quickly selected Jessie Ware’s ‘Tough Love’ album and clicked play.  Gently bouncing Lena up and down in her arms as she rocked her side to side, she softly sang the words to her still spooked cat.  The agitated twitching of Lena’s tail slowed to a stop by the last chorus of the song.  Worried about how deep Kara was cut, Maggie pulled one of Lena’s paws into her hand and gently pressed on one of her pink toe beans to pop out a claw.  It had been a few days since she clipped Lena’s claws and they were a bit sharp.  Sighing, Maggie set Lena on the highest platform of her cat tree and hurried back to Alex.

“I called Winn.  He’s going to open up the clinic and check on Kara.  Is Lena all up to date on her shots?”

“Yeah…I checked her claws.  They aren’t pterodactyl level but they are…long.”

Alex ran an agitated hand through her hair.

“I’m going to get Kara’s leash and head out.  Do you want to come or does Lena need you?”

“I put her calm down music on.  She just needs a little her time.”

“The xx?” Alex tiredly guessed.

“No, Jessie Ware.”  Maggie half-smiled at her girlfriend.  “You memorizing Lena’s favourite singers?”

“Unfortunately.” Grumbled Alex.  Maggie raised a questioning eyebrow at her.  “We’ve had to break up so many cat and dog fights that I’ve heard enough certain albums playing to calm down your hell cat.”

“You know Lena is a sweetheart.  She’s just not the best with dogs…and Kara’s enthusiasm sometimes.”

“Let’s just get Kara checked up.  I pulled Winn from his DC movie marathon with Mike.”

“Still dating, are they?”

“Mhm.  You owe me a back massage for losing that bet.”

“Get in the damn car, Danvers.”

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Kara whimpered at the memory.

Luckily there wasn’t much damage and after a quick check up and a few swipes of a cold cotton ball, Kara was given the all-clear and was sent back home.  Now that they were permanently living together and forced to see each other every day, Lena stuck to the high road and could be found roosting on bookshelves, her cat tree, the different shelves Maggie screwed into the wall, and perched on Maggie’s shoulder as she moved about the house sometimes.

Kara just wanted to be friends…how was she supposed to know that Lena didn’t like Kara knowing how she was doing via smell?

“Well, I still want to be friends!”

“Go away.  I was having a nice sleep before you came along.”

“Hey,” barked Kara, “I always sleep with Alex.”

“So?” Lena hissed.  “This is my house and if your human wasn’t Maggie’s mate, you wouldn’t be here in _my_ territory.”

“But we’re a pack now!  We should be getting along and sleeping in a pile keeping each other warm!”

“No.”  Lena hissed again.

Maggie saw Lena’s fangs flash and hurriedly shook her girlfriend awake.  Still half-asleep, Alex cracked a single eye open.

“You need to take Kara out to the yard.”

“Why?”

“Looks like our fur babies are trying to have a showdown.”

Confused, Alex mentally shook herself awake and sat up.  Kara was half-ready to shift forward but was frozen in place at the anxious and tense body language of Lena, who still had her claws on display.  Worried about Kara getting slashed again, Alex pulled the golden retriever into her arms and got out of bed.

Well, her life was almost perfect.  If only their pets could get along…

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

“Hey, hey!  We brought beer to Casa de los Sanvers.”  Winn proudly held up a six pack of cold ones.

“You brought the right offering.  C’mon in.”  Maggie greeted as she pulled the door open.  “I see you brought your boy toy and James.”

Maggie led the boys out into the backyard where a BBQ was in full swing.

“Yes, we thought since there would be other dogs here, James could make good dog friends with them.” Mike commented as he twisted the caps off two beers, handing one to Winn.  The veterinarian placed the other unopened beers into the cooler by Jeremiah, who was manning the grill.

“Well, Kara, Clark, and the others could always use another tag buddy.”  Alex tipped her beer in the direction of the rowdy group of dogs running around each other.  Winn bent down to pat James on his head before unclipping his leash and setting his large Doberman free.  James hurriedly ran over to the other canines and was enthusiastically welcomed into their game.

Winn grasped Mike’s hand and turned towards the table set up with freshly grilled burgers.  Alex’s boss, J’onn, was here with his friend, M’gann (they had a betting pool about whether or not they were just friends or more), Jeremiah, Eliza, and a few of Maggie’s work friends were spread out around the spacious yard chatting and enjoying the food.  J’onn made sure that while he was socializing, he was able to keep a watchful eye on his grey Peruvian Hairless dog, Vasquez.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

This was the best!  Kara got to catch up with Clark and was meeting some other dogs.  They were happily playing when another large dog came bounding over.  Everyone hurriedly greeted each other by sniffing one another before happily welcoming the Doberman to come play tag with them.  Sunbathing away from the excited group, Lena happily soaked up the sun’s rays in a lounge chair.  Maggie made sure to set up the chair in the quietest corner (a.k.a – away from the dogs) so that Lena wasn’t trapped watching the festivities from inside.

“Should you really have Lena out here?” Winn casually pointed at the tuxedo cat happily laying on her side.

“Relax, she’s got all her shots, Dr. Schott.” Maggie grinned at him.

“Ha ha.  I’ve gotten worse jokes about my last name.”  He squinted out into the sunlight at the cluster of dogs roughhousing over a game of tug of war with a thick piece of rope.  “You told me Kara got those scratches from Lena.  They’re still not getting along?”

“Nope.” Alex popped the ‘p’ as she stepped next to Maggie, offering her a bite of her hot dog.

“Jeez…those dogs at the Luthor household really did a number on her if she still hasn’t warmed up to Kara after these past few months.”

Mike gave Winn’s hand a quick squeeze to get his attention.

“Winn, I want to start a doggy pile on me.  That’s the right term, right?  I want a pile of dogs on me and I’d like you to take a picture so I can put it on the instagrams.”

The veterinarian smiled and excused himself to follow his excited boyfriend to forever capture this particular shenanigan on social media.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

James certainly liked the smell of Kara since the first time he met her.  She was a very energetic and fun dog to be around.  James thought he was fast at tag but Kara was even quicker (maybe faster than Clark) and she was crafty at making sure she could escape being 'it'.  He wanted to get to know her better…maybe she’d even agree to be his mate!

Thirsty from all the playing, Kara broke apart from the group to trot over to one of the many water bowls set out and greedily lapped at the cool water.  Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention when she looked up.  Lena was flopped on her side, belly exposed to everyone as she sat sunbathing as her tail languidly flicked against the chair.  Kara walked over to Lena and stopped to sit back on her hind legs in front of the chair.  Feeling a pair of eyes watching her, she sighed and cracked an eye open.  Kara beamed when they made eye contact.

_Ugh._

“What?”

“Are you having a good time?”

“I was until you interrupted me.”

Kara’s tail slowly swished side to side.  They were having a nice conversation!  Lena hasn’t threatened her to go away yet!

“Did you want to come play with the rest of us over there?  You can meet my brother Clark!”

“I’d rather stay here, thanks.”

The golden retriever tilted her head in confusion.

“But…isn’t it boring laying here?”

“Maybe for you.”

Chuffing, Kara rolled onto her back, barking at Lena to look at her.  The feline lazily looked over her chair to see Kara’s tongue lolling out of her mouth and tail wagging excitedly at her attention.

“Look!  I’ll sunbathe with you.”

Lena retreated back to the seat of the chair.  Kara’s tail stopped wagging.  A quiet moment passed between them until one of Kara’s ears perked at hearing Lena’s quiet meow.

“As long as you’re quiet.”

Kara’s tail started up again.  Oh man, Kara was going to be such a good and _quiet_ sunbathing partner that Lena was going to want to sunbathe with Kara all the time!

A shadow was cast over Kara’s face.  Blinking up, Kara’s eyes met the dark fur of James.  Rolling onto her belly, Kara sat up onto her haunches to look questioningly at the other dog.

“Hey, James.  Did you get tired of playing too?”

He shook his head, eyes trained down at the tuxedo cat luxuriating in the sun.  Kara tilted her head in confusion at the alertness of her friend’s ears.

“Did you want to try sunbathing with us?”

“Is this the cat that scratched you?”

Kara pushed herself up until she was standing on all four paws, body tense at the cold anger in James’ voice.  She slowly maneuvered herself in front of the lawn chair making sure that she broke his eye contact to Lena.

“It was an accident.  I didn’t know that cats have different ways to greet each other.”

“Still.  Someone should teach that stray some manners.” James barked, trying to move to the side to get another look at Lena.  The feline’s eyes snapped open at the insult James threw at her.  Lifting her head, Lena hissed at the darker dog.

“No one invited you over here, mutt.  Why don’t you mind your own business and lick you crotch over there.”

“Say that to my face!” James loudly barked.  He knocked Kara out of the way and snapped his jaws at Lena.  She had anticipated the move and leapt up onto the top of the chair, balancing precariously on the thin metal.  Kara scrambled up and tried to headbutt James away but he couldn’t be moved as he kept steady eye contact with the feline.

“You damn cats think you own the place.  Slashing innocent dogs with those knives you call claws.  If you’re so tough, why don’t you come down here and try those things on me?”

Lena’s tail whipped through the air, tension rolling off her body at the snarl and fangs he directed at her.  She wasn’t going to be spooked out of her own territory by some dumb mutt.  If he wanted to look like an idiot in front of his humans, that was his prerogative.  All Lena wanted to do was quietly nap in the warm sun while everyone left her alone.

“Hey, James, knock it off.  I told you, it was just a misunderstanding.  That’s the only time Lena’s scratched me.  I’m perfectly healed!”

“No!” James roared as he suddenly lunged at the cat, maw open wide to crush the pretentious cat’s head between his jaws.  Terrified, Lena jumped off and took a running leap at the wooden fence behind her.  Her claws shot out as she frantically worked to scrabble enough traction to push herself up onto the top of the fence.  James gave chase immediately and made a loud racket as he knocked the lawn chair over in his haste to catch Lena.  He was angry when he heard his human, Winn, talking about some nasty scratches Kara had received a little while ago.  The sweet golden retriever didn’t deserve that kind of treatment from a self-involved cat like Lena.  He was going to take justice into his own paws and show Lena that she wasn’t the alpha in the house.  Kara needed a mate who was strong and could protect her, she needed a guardian.

Kara’s frantic barking alongside the loud woofs of James quickly drew the attention of their humans to them.  Maggie and Alex’s eyes widened at Lena’s position on top of the fence.

“Uh-oh, does Lena normally tightrope along your fence?” Winn asked nervously, hurrying to grab James’ leash from his pocket.

“No!  Lena’s never done that before.  She’s shown no interest in exploring outside of the yard.”

“I guess this is what is called letting the cat out of the bag? Or, more like the cat out of the house?” Mike asked.

“He’s going to jump up at her!”

“Shit.”

All four pet owners ran.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

James aggressively jumped up against the wooden fence, teeth snapping, and saliva flying.  Each pound of his paws against the wooden barrier caused Lena to wobble.  Kara was desperately trying to knock him away but he wasn’t having it.  The other dogs noticed the ruckus and had rushed over.  Kara quickly told Clark what James was trying to do and the golden retriever siblings were trying to calm the Doberman down while hoping Lena’s human would rush over to ferry her to safety.

Having a whole pack of dogs loudly barking, jumping, and knocking against the fence was terrifying.  Images of the aggressive dogs back on the Luthor compound flashed in Lena’s mind.  The same cruel teeth flashing as they snapped at her, biting down on her tail, knocking her to the ground with powerful headbutts…she was terrified about the same type of dog below her doing exactly that to her.  She needed to escape before she felt his jaws squeeze around her throat.  Even though Lena was a house cat through and through, there wasn’t much option left for her if she wanted to be safe.

“Stop, James!  I told you, Lena’s part of my pack.  She didn’t mean to scratch me!”

“If she was part of your pack she wouldn’t have even drawn her claws on you in the first place!”  He gave one more mighty run at the fence and viciously snapped his jaws.  Lena could feel his hot breath.  Not again…Lena couldn’t go through this again.

“James, STOP!”  Kara’s desperate eyes met Lena’s fearful ones for a long moment before Lena turned her head and leapt off the fence onto the other side.  Kara’s heart froze.

“She said stop, James!” Clark roared as he lunged at the darker dog and knocked him onto his side.  The two violently wrestled before their humans arrived.  Mike clamped an iron hold around James’ collar and tugged him backwards, keeping one hand firm on his collar and the other holding James on his back.

“Bad boy!  _VERY_ bad boy, James.  No!  We do _not_ jump up and bark at other cats.”  James thrashed against Mike’s hold but was unable to break free.  He needed to be strong for Kara, to show her he was a worthy mate!  Winn snapped the leash’s clip to James’ collar and breathed a sigh of relief.  Alex grabbed Kara by her collar and tugged her away from the mess of canines.

“Down!”

Kara was in shock.  Lena ran away.  She jumped onto the other side…Lena told her she never wanted to go outside past the wooden area of Maggie’s yard…

“ _DOWN, KARA!_ ”

The command echoed in Kara’s shock filled mind and her body automatically responded.  Kara watched in a trance as Maggie called Lena’s name, desperately hoping Lena would jump back over but nothing happened.  Maggie pushed past the other guests to burst out onto the street, looking every which way for a startled black and white cat with four white socks, a pink nose, and deep green eyes.  Everywhere she whipped her head, she saw no trace of Lena.  She picked a random direction and started running while calling out Lena’s name.  Tears streaked down her face as she blurrily looked for her runaway cat.

“Hey.” Alex huffed as she caught up to Maggie, hand squeezing the detective's shoulder.  The detective slowed to a stop, chest heaving as she turned to face Alex.

“She’s gone, Alex!  My Lena is gone!”

“It hasn’t been too long.  She might’ve gone the other way.”

“Lena’s never run away before!”

Alex pulled her girlfriend to her chest, heart clenching at the broken look on Maggie’s face.

“Lena’s a smart kitty.  She’ll probably come home when she smells that the other dogs left.”

Maggie clutched desperately at the back of Alex’s shirt, heaving ugly sobs into her girlfriend’s chest.  She should have never brought Lena outside when there were so many other dogs around.  She knew Lena’s history with canines and yet, she still forced her to be around them unsupervised.  She was a terrible mom.

“Alex, we need everyone to go out and search the neighbourhood for her.”

“Already on it.” The red head softly assured.  “We’ll find her, babe.  Lena will be home in no time.”  She pressed a warm kiss to the side of Maggie’s head and prayed that her words were true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I'm blown away with how much love 9L has received. Thank you for reading, commenting, subscribing, bookmarking, and all the kudos'! 
> 
> This was honestly just a self-indulgent piece of trash I really wanted to write because I thought it was cute. As an FYI, I changed Alex's hair colour to red. That was her original hair colour when I first starting writing 9L but all the screenshots I found made her hair look closer to brown. WHATEVER! It's red now. Waited for it to be midnight here so I don't wreck anyone's V-Day.
> 
> Shout out to missalyciakomestella for sending me cute pictures of her British shorthair kitty and Irish Setter. If Alex were a dog, she'd be an Irish Setter (pretty sure I think that because of the dog's ears).  
> P.S. - I'm still accepting cute pics of kitties in my tumblr inbox! Pls send. ;w;


	3. Homeward Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lost, found, lost, and found again.  
> How many lives did Lena still have out of her original 9?

This leash was so annoying!  If it wasn’t for that damn thing, she’d be able to run and cover more ground.  Kara quickly walked the length of the bushes attempting to smell Lena’s scent on the low hanging leaves.  No dice.  She hurriedly ran back to Alex waiting on the sidewalk and darted to the next house.

Since Lena ran away, Kara and her pack had been out the entire weekend trying to find their missing member.  While her and her human were pounding the pavement on paw, Maggie had opted to go it solo and check every animal shelter to see if someone had sent Lena there.  It was day three of their search and so far it was fruitless.  She couldn’t manage to catch much of Lena’s scent after the first block and yesterday it had rained, so Alex left her at home while Maggie and her hit up animal control.  Snuffling around a wooden porch, Kara acutely felt the guilt from everything that happened at the party sit heavily in her gut.  After all, it was her fault that Lena ran away. 

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Once everyone reconvened at Maggie’s after hours of searching, James had quietly walked up to Kara to see how she was doing.  Kara immediately knocked him to the ground and aggressively barked in his face about how upset she was that Lena was missing because of his stupidity.

“Kara, I’m sorry!  I got carried away, ok?”

“No, James!  You started a fight with her for no reason.  That was the first time she was letting me hang out with her and then you had to come over and ruin everything!”

James tried to get back up but was stopped by Kara’s sudden growl and bared teeth.

“H-Hey, I did have a good reason, Kara.  You need to trust me on that.”

“What is it?” she snarled.

“I think you’re a really sweet and brave dog.  You’re unlike any other I’ve met.  I was just trying to show you that I’d be a good match for you.”

Eyes wide, Kara backed away from the Doberman.  Rolling onto his front, James pushed himself up and took a tentative step towards the shocked golden retriever.

“When Winn mentioned your emergency visit and about how Lena had scratched you, I was angry.  I can’t imagine you doing anything to her that would warrant such a violent retaliation.”

He took another step forward.

Kara took one step back.

“I know I messed up, but if you give me a chance we could be good ma—”

“I don’t want pups with you.”

James’ ears sagged at the sharp response.  Kara’s muscles were tightly coiled in anticipation, ready to fight at the drop of a hat.

“Well, we couldn’t anyways since we’re both fixed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be m—”

“No.”  Kara shook her head.  “My mate would never ignore me when I told them to stop.”

She took a menacing step forward and bared her teeth.

“My mate would never threaten someone in my pack.”

Kara’s growl rumbled deep in her chest, drawing the attention of all the other dogs as she stepped into James’ space.  Seeing the danger flash in his sister’s eyes, Clark ran towards them.

“My mate would _NEVER_ attack my pack!”  Kara lunged forward, teeth snapping at the space James occupied a second ago, before Clark tackled him out of the way.  Livid, Kara lunged for James but was jerked back by a firm grasp on the back of her collar.  She continued to aggressively bark curses at James while Alex forcibly dragged her into the house where she couldn’t see him anymore.  Before her human could usher her completely inside, Kara venomously spat one more time at him.

“Don’t you _ever_ think that I’d take you as a mate after you chased Lena from her home!  Stay away from my pack because it’s not Lena’s claws you should worry about!”

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Sniffing the air, Kara knew rainfall was approaching, which only meant one thing—they’d have to stop their search for Lena.  Normally she’d be ecstatic about the rain because it meant mud puddles for her to roll around and play in, but rain meant that Lena’s scent would get washed away.

At the first drop on her head, Alex stopped and tugged on Kara’s leash.

“Sorry, Kara.  We need to head home before we’re soaked.”

The golden retriever tugged against her leash, trying to pull Alex forward so that they could continue to look for the missing tuxedo cat.  Digging her heels in, Alex tugged harder on the leash forcing Kara to rear up on her hind legs, front paws cycling useless through the air in an attempt to continue moving forward.

“No, Kara!  We can keep searching for Lena later.  Come!”

Ears drooping, Kara fell back onto her front paws and whined loudly.  Alex tugged on the leash again.  Unhappy that the rain was putting a halt to their search, Kara dejectedly turned around and followed Alex home, hoping against hope that Maggie would already be back with Lena cuddled up in her arms.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

She was dehydrated and hungry.

Lena blinked tiredly from her hiding spot under some bushes in front of a random house.  She hadn’t eaten since the morning she escaped the savage dog from killing her and she was starting to get weak.  It didn’t help that it rained yesterday and was raining now.  The poor feline was soaking wet within minutes of the sudden downpour.  The leaves she was hiding under offered little protection against the elements and she could see her breath with every exhaled pant.  A small puddle of rainwater gathered on the pavement leading up to the front door of the house she was hiding in front of.  Lena wasn’t too thrilled about the idea but lapping at water from cement was better than drinking from the puddle next to her that was a cloudy mixture of dirt and rainwater.  Internally sighing, she scanned the area for any threats before darting out.

Night had fallen and so had the temperature.  Lena greedily lapped at the rainwater, trying to ignore her shivering as she attempted to rehydrate herself.  Two bright lights turned into the driveway as Lena froze and stared at the car pulling up.  She lapped one last mouthful and darted back under the bushes, praying that no one saw her.  Ears straining, Lena heard a car door slam shut and a pair of feet coming closer until they stopped in front of her hiding spot.  A human crouched down and shone a bright light into Lena’s reflective eyes.  Growling low in warning, Lena backed up until her body was flush against the building.

“Hey there.  I thought I saw a kitty when I was pulling up.”

Lena arched her back and continued to growl when the human reached slowly towards her.  If Lena was honest with herself, she was too tired and cold to fight with this human in her current condition.  The human’s dark fur started sticking to her head as she continued to quietly shush Lena’s angry rumbling and thankfully stopped reaching towards her.  She tilted the light from her phone towards the ground so it wasn’t completely blinding Lena and offered the feline a slow blink.

Should Lena trust her?  The human seemed relaxed…and she wasn’t trying to grab or chase her away from her house.  A crack of lightning tore up the sky.  Lena hunched further in on herself as her tail dropped between her legs.  At seeing Lena’s submissive stance, the human slowly reached behind Lena’s neck and grabbed the scruff of her neck.  The tuxedo cat instantly went limp as the stranger pulled her from her hiding spot and brought her inside.

“It’s ok, you’re going to be alright now.”

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Eyes barely cracking open, Lena quickly noticed she was dry, warm, and she felt safe.  Blinking the fatigue away, she belatedly realized there was a heat pad underneath the soft blanket she was lying on.  Where was she?

“Look who’s finally awake.”  The same human from early got up from the couch and picked up two metal bowls.  “Here, some clean water and wet food.”

Lena suspiciously eyed the human as she placed the bowls down and moved away to sit on the hardwood floor, back against the sofa.  Her whiskers shifted back against her face in obvious anxiety and distrust.  Lena was hesitant to take the offering of food with a strange human nearby, even if the human did dry her off and thoughtfully place a heat pad underneath her as she slept.

“It’s not poisoned.”

Eyes shooting upwards, Lena’s green met luminous ochre.  A grey tabby casually sat roosting on top of the bookshelf, tail lazily swishing over the edge.

“What happened while I was asleep?”

“You mean passed out?  My human was nice enough to towel you dry and give you a nice place to sleep.  She’s been pretty worried about you, ya know.”

Lena’s ears flicked in displeasure.

“I didn’t pass out.”

“Mhm, sure.  Trust me, she knows what she’s doing.  After you were dry, I saw with my own eyes how your fur stood up when she gently pulled it up.  You’re clearly dehydrated.”

The tuxedo cat said nothing and glared.  Unfazed by the death stare, the grey tabby shifted her eyes back down towards the pristine bowls placed in front of Lena.

“My human’s a good one.  She saved me from the streets before too.  If you’re worried, I can come down and eat some to prove it’s ok.”

Whiskers twitching, Lena finally relented and shifted warily towards the bowls, eyes trained on the human.  For the most part, the black furred human stayed still, smiling softly, and patiently waited as Lena crept closer to the water bowl.  Lena tentatively licked at the water, still eyeing the human.  Tasting nothing wrong, Lena hurriedly drank, reveling in the feeling of quenching her parched throat.

“Good, kitty!”  The human shifted forward to tug the empty water dish away from Lena.  Tail rattling anxiously against the floor, Lena shifted towards the food bowl allowing the human to take the other away.  “I’m Jess by the way.  You get started on filling your belly and I’ll be back with more water.”

“See?  Nothing to worry about.”  Gently landing on her paws, the grey tabby sauntered up to Lena, making sure to keep a respectable distance as she sat and observed.  Uninterested in conversation, Lena focused on the meal in front of her, instead of the curious eyes of the other feline and Jess.  Finished with the meal, the tuxedo cat licked lazily at her chops and wandered back to her makeshift bed.  She was too tired to groom herself, as she normally would after a meal, and allowed the heat pad beneath her to lull her back to sleep.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Jess wandered out of her bathroom, hair neatly piled into a bun on top of her head, into her kitchen to find her cat and the lost stray waiting patiently by their food bowls.  Grabbing the canned food from last night, she bent down to scoop some wet food into the grey tabby’s bowl first but a headbutt to her knee and a loud meow halted her.  Wide green eyes met her mahogany.

“C’mon now.  I’ll feed you right after Raven.”

The tuxedo cat insistently meowed again.  The young Chinese woman sighed and turned to her cat.

“You ok to wait, Rae?”

Her grey tabby responded by idly licking her paw, uninterested in the food in Jess’ hand.  Smiling in relief, Jess offered her kitty a cheek scratch before she started to fill their guest’s food bowl.  As the tuxedo cat ate, Jess lightly brushed her fingers against the feline’s back, breath held as she waited for a negative reaction.  The cat kept eating unbothered by the touch.

“Alright, so you aren’t feral.  I don’t see a collar though…”  After filling Raven’s bowl, Jess put the food away and gently lifted Lena up into her lap when she saw that she was finished.  Lena didn’t hiss or try to squirm out of Jess’ arms like she would have earlier, but her muscles were still tensed and ready to bolt the second the human tried something unsavoury.  Jess offered the stiff tuxedo cat soft shushes and slowly scratched Lena’s cheeks.  To Lena’s mortification, her eyes happily closed as she involuntarily started to purr.

“For such a bossy cat, you sure do enjoy cheek scratches.”  This Jess human had magical fingers!  It took Maggie a solid two weeks to figure out where Lena liked to be petted before she would purr.  If Jess was a witch, Lena wanted to know where she could sign up to be her familiar.

“What’s this?”  Soft fingers brushed against the inside of Lena’s left ear.  “Bingo.  You’ve got a tattoo—perfect.”  Depositing Lena on the floor, Jess moved to a closet and pulled out a plastic carrier.  Lena’s tail twitched at the sight.  She wasn’t a big fan of having to get into such a confined space but Jess offered her another cheek scratch as she quickly transferred her into the carrier.

“Alright, I’m going to head off to work.  _Mao mao_ , come give me some kisses before I leave.”

Curiously enough, Raven trotted over to her crouched human and gently nuzzled the side of her neck.  Smile bright, Jess lifted the grey tabby up to her face and booped their noses together.

“Be good, Rae, I’ll be back home in time to feed you.”

With that, Jess threw a blanket overtop the carrier shrouding Lena in darkness and left.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Maggie scrambled for the noisy phone in her back pocket and eyed the caller ID flashing on the screen.

_NC HOLISTIC VET CLINIC_

She quickly excused herself from her coworkers and hurried into a quieter corner of the precinct.

“Hello?”

“ _Is this Ms. Maggie Sawyer?”_

“Speaking.”

“ _Hey, this is Dr. Leung with National City Holistic Veterinarian Clinic.”_

The detective’s heart started to thump loudly in her chest.  It couldn’t be…

“ _I’m just calling to let you know I found a stray cat in front of my house the other day.  She’s a tuxedo cat with four white paws and green eyes.  I managed to identify you as the owner with the tattoo in her left ear.  Is she still your cat?_ ”

“Yes!” Maggie cried, “Yes, that’s my Lena.  Thank god you found her.  I was having a BBQ on Friday but I turned away for one second to see she was on top of the fence and then gone the next.  Is she ok?  She’s not hurt?”

The voice on the other end softly chuckled.

“ _She’s not hurt.  Lena was dehydrated and hungry but luckily I found her last night hiding under the bushes in front of my house.  I fed her some wet food last night and this morning.  She's currently on a fluids drip right now but she'll be perfectly fine._ ”

Relief flooded Maggie as she pushed the palm of her hand into her eye, willing the wetness to go away.  A few rogue tears ran down her cheeks as she thanked the vet.

“When can I pick her up?  Is she scared?”

“ _Lena’s fine.  She was a bit wary of me at the beginning but she didn’t bite or scratch.  She’s actually very sweet when she isn’t bossing me around to feed her faster.  Our clinic is open until 7 tonight._ ”

“I’ll come right now to get her.”

Maggie profusely thanked the veterinarian a few more times before hanging up.  She rushed to grab her coat and keys then banged on her boss’ door.

“Remember that time I covered for you so you could prep and watch the Super Bowl?  Yeah, well I’m calling in that favour and taking the next two days off!  Bye!”

Like a whirlwind, Maggie was gone.

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

“Ms. Sawyer?”

Maggie’s head shot up.  She was vibrating with energy as she gripped tighter onto the handle of Lena’s carrier, excited to be reunited with her missing kitty.  The assistant waved her to follow her into the back where she was ushered into an in-take room.  There, sitting curled on the lap of the vet was her precious baby.

“Lena!”  The detective fell to her knees in front of the softly purring feline and tossed her carrier to the floor.  She reverently ran a shaking hand over the top of Lena’s head as she silently cried.  It really was her!

“Well, I guess that answers my question about whether or not you’re her owner.”

Wiping her tears away, Maggie sheepishly looked up at the veterinarian.  There was a ghost of a smile at the corner of the Chinese woman’s lips as she fondly looked between Lena and her owner.

“Sorry about not coming out to get you.  Lena decided she wanted more cheek scratches and when she curled up in my lap, well...I’m sure you understand.”

Maggie grinned lopsidedly and pulled Lena into her arms.  Recognizing her human’s scent, Lena opened her eyes, nuzzled up into Maggie’s neck, and purred louder.  The detective tightened her hold and nuzzled her pet back.

“You know, I’ve never known Lena to be so friendly to a stranger before.  I hope she wasn’t too much trouble while she was with you.”

Jess waved away the concern, rolling her chair back to grab her clipboard.

“It’s no trouble at all.  Aside from my kitty, I have lots of spare carriers, beds, toys, and grub for kitties.  I help foster for the animal shelter a few blocks down.  My cat, Raven, is used to having short term guests.  I can definitely tell you that Lena is a huge fan of food time though.”

Dimples popping, Maggie chuckled at the affectionate lick Lena gave her chin.

“My little fur ball can be a little demanding at times.”

Jess leaned in and jokingly whispered, “I definitely called her Boss Lady behind her back to my cat, Raven.  Shhh, I don’t think she knows.”  The vet offered a final chin scratch to the happy feline.

“Well, thank you again, Ms. Leung.”

“Please, it’s Jessica or Jess.  I’m just glad I was able to get Lena back to you.  She’s quite the sweetheart.”

The two chatted idly as Jess led her back to the front desk.   Maggie filled out the necessary paper work and cooed at Lena in her carrier.  Shaking Jess’ hand firmly once more, Maggie grabbed one of her business cards from the front desk.

“Y’know, Lena’s usually more sour when she comes in for her vet visits.  Would you mind if she became one of your patients?”

An elegant eyebrow rose questioningly at the words.

“Doesn’t Lena already have a designated veterinarian you take her to?”

“She does…but after his dog literally chased her out of her own yard, I’d say it’s a safe bet that Lena’s next visit to him would result in some nasty scratches.”

“Ahh, say no more.  I’d love to see Boss Lady again.  Would you like to see me?” Jess softly asked, finger being sniffed at through the grate of Lena’s cage.

“I feel like I should be jealous of how quickly Lena’s taken to you.”

“Hardly.  I gave her a warm place to sleep and returned her to her owner.  This is probably her way of thanking me for not leaving her to freeze to death in the rain.  Isn’t that right, Boss?”

Lena gently licked Jess’ fingers and uttered a warm meow.

Both women’s hearts melted at the display.

“Hurry…before I take her home and adopt her.”

 

**\-----------------------------**

 

Kara listlessly lay next to Lena’s cat tree.  Both her humans were away at work and Kara was left at home to mope.  She should be outside looking for Lena, not cooped inside doing nothing!  This is Lena’s home and it wasn’t the same without her.  The golden retriever softly sniffed the base of the cat tree and whimpered quietly to herself.

Stupid James.

If he wasn’t so adamant about proving to Kara that he was a capable mate, Lena wouldn’t have been spooked out of her own home.  Kara grit her teeth.  The next time she saw James, she was going to remind him that he wasn’t welcome here.

“Kara, c’mere!  I’ve got a surprise for you!”

Ears perking at Maggie’s voice, Kara scrambled up onto her paws and ran to the front entrance.  The dark furred human was grinning and holding a familiar figure in her arms.  Eyes wide, Kara’s mouth dropped open.

“L-LENA!!!”  She charged Maggie and knocked her over, excitedly sniffing the feline in her arms.  “Is it really you, Lena?  I was so worried!  I’m so sorry that James was such an ass!  Welcome home!”

Lena meowed unhappily at the snuffling nose messing up her fur and the wet tongue that licked a long strip across her face.  Paws desperately attempting to push the onslaught of affection away, Lena yowled at Maggie to save her.  Her human just laughed at Kara’s excitement.

“Alright, alright.  Down, Kara!  I think Lena’s had enough of your slobbery kisses.”  Maggie pushed the grinning dog away and stood up with her fur baby still cradled in her arms.  She popped on Lena’s calm music and safely deposited her on the highest tier of her beloved cat tree.  Before Maggie could move away, Lena meowed for her attention.

“What is it, fluff butt?” The detective softly cooed, running her fingers over the feline’s back.  Lena nuzzled the inside of Maggie’s forearm, purring up a storm, and offered her a loving lick.  Heart bursting at the affection, Maggie leaned in to kiss Lena’s pink nose.

“Love you too, L.  Finally feels like home again with you here.”

Flopping onto her side, Lena sighed in content.  Man, did it feel good to be back at home!  A soft whining below caught her attention.  Peeking over the edge of her perch, Lena spotted wet puppy eyes staring back at her.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

Lena disappeared for a moment before gracefully descending down the levels of her cat tree.  She stopped on the first tier since it was eye level for Kara and tucked her paws under her body.  Kara ducked her head bashfully at being able to see Lena’s pretty green eyes up close again.  She forgot how hypnotizing they could be.

“Welcome home.”

“It’s good to be back.”

“I…I really missed you while you were gone.  I made Alex go searching with me this entire weekend to see if I could pick up your scent, but then it kept raining and—”

“Thank you.”

Kara’s tail started wagging.

“Maggie told the human that sheltered me about how upset you were the entire time I was gone.”

“Of course!  You told me you didn’t care to explore outside but then you just ran away.  Some other mean dogs might have hurt you or unfriendly humans could have found you.”  Kara’s eyes quickly took stock of Lena making sure she was unharmed.  “Stupid James was such a jerk to you.  I can’t believe he thought attacking you would prove that he’s the best mate for me.”

Lena rolled her eyes.  Of course that dumb mutt was trying to show off how much of an alpha male he was.  Figures.

“Thank you again though, Kara.  I saw the way you tried to protect me by stepping in between us.  I…appreciate it.”

Kara proudly straightened at the grateful words.

“I was just trying to protect my pack.  Don’t worry about James.  I made sure to give him hell for chasing you away.  If he ever comes back again, I’ll make sure _he’s_ the one that gets chased out.”

Huffing at the passion burning in Kara’s dark eyes, she beckoned her closer.  The golden retriever used her front paws to scoot her seated bum nearer until their noses were an inch apart.  Kara tilted her head in curiosity.  What did she want?  Lena never wanted her within several feet of her before.  Eyes soft, Lena rested a delicate paw against Kara’s nose, right where she had scratched Kara all those weeks ago.  She made sure to keep steady eye contact as her heart started hammering in her chest.

“I’m sorry for hurting you.  I understand now that you’re different from the dogs I grew up with.”

Tail wagging hard, Kara simply beamed at Lena.

“I would never hurt you!  We’re pack members now, Lena.  You, me, Alex, and Maggie!”

Lena smiled back at the conviction of Kara’s words.

“How lucky of me to find such a sweet dog to protect me.”

Kara gently nosed the white patch of fur on Lena’s chest.  Lena’s tail puffed out at the intimate gesture, but she didn’t move or try to push Kara away.  The canine noticed Lena’s acceptance of her touch and happily rubbed more insistently until she felt a gentle rumble tickle her nose.  Eyes bright, Kara pulled back, letting her tongue loll out of her mouth.

“Did you just—”

“Ok, that’s enough being touchy feely.  I’m going to sleep.”  The tuxedo cat beat a hasty retreat up to the top of her cat tree, leaving Kara vibrating in absolute giddy delight.  Curling happily at the base of the tree, Kara couldn’t stop her tail from wagging.

She made Lena purr.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought I was going to write Supercorp without somehow including Jess, y'all don't know me!
> 
> Spectrum was suppose to be worked on/updated next but I felt so guilty having Lena run away. :'C Have some fluffy fur babies happily reunited.  
> (My favourite line is Kara shutting James down).

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to hit me up at catharsis-dreaming.tumblr.com with comments, hate mail, and questions, if you want.  
> P.S. - Please send pictures of cute cats.


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